Local filmmaker to document 'Ritz Theater Stories'

NEWBURGH — Do you remember seeing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz perform on stage in 1941? Did you come to see Frank Sinatra on stage at the Ritz?

NEWBURGH — Do you remember seeing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz perform on stage in 1941? Did you come to see Frank Sinatra on stage at the Ritz?

The Ritz Theater wants to record your story or memory of the historic Ritz Theater.

This Saturday and Sunday, local filmmaker Lynda Parisi will be conducting video interviews as part of an important documentary project on the Ritz Theater.

If you would like to share your story, please call 784-1199 or email elmparisi@aol.com or info@ritztheaternewburgh.org to set up an interview. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Interviews will be recorded between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Please bring any old photos, or newspaper articles or materials of any kind relating to the Ritz Theater that you may have.

The history of the Ritz begins in the 1930s. In 1933, Eugene Levy purchased and renovated the theater and renamed it the Ritz. It was then that the theater began its most illustrious chapter, with big-name films and live performances by stars such as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Prima, Mary Martin, Peggy Lee, Woody Herman, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Dick Powell, Eddy Duchin, Red Skelton, Xavier Cugat, the Inkspots, Vaughn Monroe, Montana Slim, Ricardo Cortez, Les Brown, and many more.

Located on the corner of Broadway and Liberty Street in Newburgh, the Ritz Theater is the last remaining historic theater in the city.

For more information about the documentary project and the historic Ritz Theater, visit www.ritztheaternewburgh.org or call 784-1199.